Hannibal the Hoon

French police have protested after Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was allowed to go free after being clocked at more than 140 km/h on the Champs-Elysees.

French police have protested after Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was allowed to go free after being clocked at more than 140 km/h on the Champs-Elysees.

"This is a genuine scandal," said Frederic Lagache of the biggest police union, Alliance, when it emerged that Mr Gaddafi, 28, was not charged after presenting his diplomatic passport.

"There is a real problem here: diplomatic immunity should not mean that certain people simply become above the law."

Mr Gaddafi was pulled over in his Porsche early on Saturday morning, a police spokesman said. He had been caught driving down France's most famous avenue at more than three times the speed limit, jumping at least three red lights in the process.

A bodyguard travelling with him tried to stop the officers from questioning him, and two other cars carrying six more guards arrived on the scene "very quickly", a police spokesman said.

After police reinforcements arrived, "things got quite heated, quite fast", the spokesman said. "There was a bit of a scuffle. One of the officers took a heavy punch. He's been given a doctor's certificate ordering him not to go back to work for four days."

Le Figaro newspaper quoted police as saying the interior of Mr Gaddafi's car smelled of alcohol and the Libyan leader's son was "unable to speak coherently". A EUR4500 ($A7,770) police radio transmitter was wrecked during the fight. Two bodyguards were arrested but released after a visit from Mr Gaddafi and Libyan embassy officials who reportedly apologised for the incident.

One security man, who was not identified, is due to appear in court on October 15 charged with causing bodily harm to a police officer.

Three years ago, Mr Gaddafi was accused of attacking three Italian policemen while on holiday in Rome.